Instant Pot Quick and Easy Lentil Meal

 Last night I was watching Brittany Jaroudi present at the American Health Association Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.  She spoke about her health journey.  She also prepared four recipes in less than an hour.  The first one was this lentil meal.

In the Instant Pot place:

1/2 cup green or brown lentils
1/2 cup chopped red onions
3/4 cup grain--she used bulgar wheat; we used long grain brown rice
1 3/4 cup vegetable broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 cup hummus put on top--NOT STIRRED IN

With the ingredients in the Pot, turn on HIGH for 6 minutes then let reduce pressure naturally.  Because I used long grain brown rice, I cooked for 10 minutes on HIGH.  It cooled down for about 23 minutes.

It may not look appealing, but it is very healthy!  Keep that firmly in mind...!  Dear One was not a fan.  He got out the Tajin and sprinkled some on top.  Brittany says to "tweek it" for your family.  I think it could have used some garlic.  Also a slug of salt, but I have read so many articles lately swearing that salt is bad for our health that I am trying to go without.  At least today!

One of the best things about this recipe, as it was made by me, was that it did not make meals and meals worth.  We can each have one small bowl tomorrow.  Then I will make some other healthy meal. Not sure I am thrilled about cooking anymore but I am certainly thrilled about living so I guess I will continue...

Fall Decor

 A couple of weeks ago, after one of his daily walks around the neighborhood after viewing all the decorations in yards and on houses, Dear One asked me if I was going to decorate our house for fall.  You could have knocked me over with a feather...an almost impossible act!  I thought to myself, "Have I EVER decorated for fall?  Or anything else except the mitten garland on the fireplace at Christmas?"

So I thought about it for a while.  One day when I was at Hobby Lobby to get some rings to make Dorset buttons for our daughter's sweater I walked around the store a little bit.  There are some UNBELIEVABLE decorations available!!!  I could not believe my eyes.  Not being a fan of Halloween, I looked for generic fall things.

Many things were gigantically expensive.  Many also were so gaudy as to turn the stomach. Or they had spiders on them.  I will NEVER encourage spiders of any kind...

Amazingly I found a door decoration that I liked. Besides being like-able, it also was fifty percent off price! Bonus!

This is it hanging on the door.  You will notice I had to purchase a wreath holder to get it to hang reasonably.  

Now I am thinking about how to make that into a Christmas decoration! We really do not have much storage space so I don't want to get into the habit of buying, or preferably making, things for decoration purposes. (Yes, our house is very boring...but does not bother me one fig.)  Well...not much storage space that does not already have plenty of other things using it...!

Funny Thing About Halloween Candy

 Dear One is the mastermind of the Halloween candy for Trick-or-Treaters at our house. I am very grateful as it keeps candy out of my hands, and often, out of my mouth!

We purchased this year's candy while on our vacation in Myrtle Beach.  When we came home it was set in the beautiful wooden rocking chair that we bought last year for the porch but turned out to be too large for our little porch. Sad. On Monday we were able to pass along (with only a little wrenching of the heart...) that chair to someone who could use it. In process of moving the candy out of the chair for the sale of the chair, I noticed something interesting!

Can you see it?!  The bag that holds several types of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups appeared to have a small slash in the top!  SOMEONE (and it was not me...!) had been into the candy!  This makes me smile.  I am sure he enjoyed every piece he ate.  There is still plenty in the bag so he probably only ate a few pieces.  Well, he bought them, so why not enjoy a few,

After seeing that bag was opened, for some inexplicable reason, my fingers found their way into the bag. I pulled out a Frankenstein cup.  I had never heard of such a thing.  It turns out the bottom of the cup is green.  Funny.

Race Away Rett 2021. 8th Year!

 

Here am I wearing the 8th annual Race Away Rett tee shirt.  This photo was taken ten days after doing the actual 5K.  I always do a walk.  Could not run if I wanted to!  The walk was done in Myrtle Beach while we were on our first vacation since before our full-time mission in 2017.  I walked on the sidewalk as far as the Boardwalk when followed the Boardwalk down to the 2nd Avenue Pier since it seemed like a good thing to do.  On the way back, now in the dark, every time I met someone on the sidewalk going the other direction I stopped  and let them pass.  I did not dare sit down and rest for fear of never getting moving  again!

May I say there may be something to be said for working gradually into things...such as walking a little every day and building up stamina then increasing the distance and time.  Smashing into a long walk (long to me) all at once had very noticeable repercussions.  As in I did no more walking, or even very much standing, for three days!  I DID get a lot of knitting done.  But then that overtaxed my hands, so maybe there is some merit in moderation in all things...!

Pumpkin Treats and Paper-Crafting!

 We are having a Relief Society activity.  All of us are invited to bring a pumpkin-themed treat to share.  Since I did plenty of "sharing" food last week on vacation it occurred to me that it would be a grand idea NOT to make a pumpkin roll.  Nor a pumpkin cheesecake.  Nor any other real food item that might not get consumed and which would then have to be returned home.  For me to eat.

In the past I have made many different boxes.  I thought a tiny box with a couple of treats in it would be ideal for this activity.  Since we had two different shades of orange card stock, I settled on this project.

This shows the paper cut out and ready to put together.  Plus a LOT of boxes already put together.  The starting size of paper for the boxes was 6.375 by 4.875 inches.  Both sides are scored at 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, and 6.0 on the long side and 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 on the short side.  You can see where to cut.  More or less.  If I can find the original video which shared this project I will link to it. (You can see I did not do this exactly as Ann did.)

These boxes have been glued and the "stems" have been put on two of them.   The pom poms are 1.375" inches in size.  It takes about three minutes to make each one of the little pom poms.

Here is the storage box filled with completed pumpkin treats.  I think they are just adorable. 

AND I think I can walk away from the treats inside.  I say this as I look in the waste basket beside me and see four empty wrappers for which I know I must take responsibility...

Organization, and Another Knitting Set-back

Yesterday morning as I was in the Come, Follow Me app for study, part of the message was an excerpt from President Russell M. Nelson about removing debris from our lives. I took it to heart and immediately started removing/organizing real debris from my desk. After many hours it is still not done but the surface of the desk is visible in multiple places. Such a boost to my spirit. I REALLY need a nap right now, though.

Just because things are looking better is not a good reason to show off pictures. Pretty soon I will be more likely to show-and-tell. Now it is just telling...

As I was sitting here working at removing and sorting and placing in final resting places all kinds of things from recipes to knitting patterns to Relief Society paperwork to hoped-for paper-crafting projects, I started thinking about the Elizabeth's Percentage System Yoked Sweater I have been working on for months for our daughter. The yoke was finished during our vacation last week, even though the final five inches was knitted more than once! (When really tired and not really able to focus, it is probably a good idea NOT to work on precision-needed projects.) All at once I thought of the collar ribbing.

Here you can see that the ribbing was knit with too-large needles.

What a bust!!! I had already knitted it twice with different needles. As I was sitting here I realized I needed to have gone down another couple of needle sizes! Rats! Well, there are so many other flaws with this sweater that this one which is so easy to correct shall be corrected. Of course at the moment I am writing I just want to go to bed but it is not quite 5:30. This would be a mistake. The last few days I have been so tired mid-afternoon that I took a nap. This raised Hob with my night-time sleeping, which is the second reason I am so fagged out right now.

Better get to the sweater...

Food Success! Yippee Yi Yo!!!

 Yesterday I saw a recipe for Vegan Alfredo Sauce.  I had made some once from a different cook.  It was pretty nasty. This one was not at all nasty!  Dear One ate a reasonable serving. THEN he took an even larger second serving.  Made me happy, I can tell you!

There are several steps to the recipe, all easy but several steps.

The whole recipe will not go here but I will tell you the ingredients as I used them.  Jessica's are a little different so you might like hers better:

12 ounces pasta-we had spaghetti purchased for $0.25/pound. I worried it would not be good but it was.
1 sweet Vidalia onion, diced
 1 cup raw cashews soaked in plain water overnight
1/4 cup pasta cooking water

1 1/2 cup plain unsweetened WestSoy soy milk
4 cloves ROASTED just before you use them garlic!
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 Tablespoons vegan parm
1 Tablespoon lime juice

First thing to do is start roasting the head of garlic. I put a sheet of parchment paper on top of a sheet of foil, placed the garlic bulb on top...though I cut off a little bit of the top first.  I did put in a teaspoon or so of vegetable oil before closing up the package though I won't use the oil next time. Then I put it in the oven to roast at 450 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Next put the pasta water heating.  When boiling add your pasta and cook the way you like it.  Drain and return to pan.  We poured the sauce over the pasta, tossed, and served.

To make the sauce, dry sautée the onion until soft and golden, about five minuted, stirring often.  Place the cooked onion, drained and rinsed cashews, pasta water, soy milk, roasted garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, vegan parm, and lime juice in food processor.  You can use a high speed bender but it is more of a pain to remove the sauce from it so I went with the food processor.  Process until very smooth.  Ours processed probably 8-10 minutes. I did not time it.  I was doing other stuff at the time.

When the sauce is really smooth and the pasta is cooked and drained as mentioned elsewhere, pour on the sauce.  Sit down at the table with your bib and tucker on and dig it.  You will almost certainly like it.

This picture is of the pasta when the sauce has just been added and not very well stirred in but with steam rising so the picture is yet another not-good-picture.  Please don't ask me to photograph your children or pets or wedding, You will be sorely disappointed!

Vegan Parm Recipe

3/4 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic (you have to watch me like a hawk: I first listed 1/2 CUP granulated garlic...)
1/4 teaspoon granulated onion
1/2 teaspoon regular iodized salt

This is also Jessica's recipe which you will find when you go to her page linked above.  For us, I just put all the ingredients in the food processor and pulsed until pretty much parm-like.  I put it in a one-cup jelly jar with a plastic lid and am storing it in the refrigerator

Just so you can see the quantity and appearance of this vegan parm.  Pretty nice stuff.  You could use it to sprinkle on many different savory foods.

Different Kind of Topic Today!

The other night I watched/listened to a talk by Brent L. Top at BYU Education Week from 2010.  I found it very interesting.  You might too.

Knitting Tales Again

 It flabbergasts me how fast the days are going by.  It must be the Last Days when time is speeded up...!

There were so many things I planned to blog about but it did not happen.  A lot of other things did, though, never fear. I am not just lying around rotting out!  Not. At. All.  More is the pity, some days, anyway.  I could use a good lie-about.

Today I just want to say that the beautiful test knit is completed and reported.  It is on my Ravelry page if you want to look at it.  I am "The Country Wife" there, too.  I think you can see it. The pattern will be published on 28 October so maybe not until then, but I do think it can be seen.

Besides finding a few errors in the pattern, which, when corrected, made a HUGE difference in the satisfying nature of the knitting process, I found it a lovely job.  It DID take me quite a while, though.  Maybe about 40 hours, but I had to restart it three times.  Anyone who reads, actually understands and FOLLOWS the pattern will not take as long as I did.  I feel absolutely certain of that.

There were several things going on in each round:  increasing ribs, increasing sleeve cables, and the central cable motif.  I was driving myself crazing looking at the pattern, looking at the knitting, working a few stitches, then looking back to make sure I was doing it properly...since I did NOT want to keep ripping out and repeating the work.

SO...I made my own increase chart.  I say that as if I just whipped it out but it took me six tries before it was totally right and that was only about 20 rounds before the bind-off!!

This was the fifth try and was really helpful until I was so near the end I could see it, then realized I had mis-read the pattern and had many more rows to go.  So deflating, but I just made a 6th chart and went to town on it.

This was the final chart.  The whole reason for this increases chart was that the three types of increases in every round were getting my goat.  I was so glad when I had increased enough on the front and back of the capelet and was ready for the motif chart so after that, on those two sections, there were no increases, just ribs.  So relaxing for 40 stitches in front and back!

Anyway, I did finish it and before the deadline.  I will post a picture here and give the name of the pattern on the 28th.  If I remember. Otherwise, go to Ravelry.com and see it and the notes--though many of the notes were written VERY late in the game!

One more day and we are off to the Beach!!!!  So excited.